Since 2002 Stolen Sharpie Revolution has been the go-to resource for zines and zine culture. With over 21,000 copies in print, this book is poised to break the quarter-hundred-thousand copy barrier at least BUT I NEED YOUR HELP!

Depending on when you are reading this there is either 9 or 8 days left to go and we are still short over $2,000 out of the $6,000 we need. So, if you were considering backing this project, THE TIME IS NOW! You can get yourself some fun rewards including an actual Sharpie Marker with “Stolen Sharpie Revolution” printed on it, a Stolen Sharpie Revolution T-shirt, all 5 editions of Stolen Sharpie Revolution, or get a pack of 10 for your store, distro, class or gift for friends, or have me do the layout for your zine! Maybe you already backed the kickstarter and are getting a copy of the book. Why not raise your donation level by $25 and donate a copy of Stolen Sharpie Revolution in your name to one of the many Little Free Libraries in Portland.

If you were thinking that you would just buy a copy of SSR later you might want to reconsider that as these will not be available to buy until AFTER the kickstarter rewards have been sent out. We are estimating that copies will not be available until late November. So, if you want to get a copy of the new edition of Stolen Sharpie Revolution you MUST act now and support the Kickstarter!

One more big announcement: The iconic covers of Stolen Sharpie Revolution will be receiving a bit of an update! My buddy Steve Larder, illustrator and author of Rum Lad zine has agreed to drawn me a new spiffy looking Sharpie marker for the cover! I’m so excited because I just I love Steve’s artwork. You should check it out as well.

I joined this Facebook group to challenge myself to write 15 minutes per day in September. It’s been really helpful. I expected to write for the fiction split but the muses had other things in mind. I have been compiling a zine about zine events. It has been going really well. I have been kicking around the idea that there should be a calendar of zine events. Well, in true DIY fashion, I started one myself and attached it to this blog.

*House made BBQ seitan, coleslaw, and potato salad.

*multi-grain pilaf with lentils, quinoa, teff, a variety of rices topped with steamed kale, green beans and peppers with a green salad.

*roasted garden tomatoes with a sweet pepper, some olive oil, and balsamic vinegar for hours in the oven at a low temperature and made into a sauce served over spiral pasta and sauteed garden squash and greens.

*vegan perogies (potato, onion, mushroom) topped with sour cream and caramelized onions. Also with steamed corn, kale, and zucchini. I used some left over perogie dough and made tiny blackberry turnover with berries from the yard.

So, when I was in the UK I was talking to Paul on video chat a lot. Right after we got off the computer I got a call back. I guess a huge branch had fallen out of our tree, on to the roof and down the front of the house onto the mail box and fence and blocking the path to the door. I was thousands of miles and 8 time zones away and I couldn’t do anything. What if it had damaged the roof?

Anyway, by the time I got home Paul and Dan had cleared most of the branch away with the help of my chainsaw and stored it for firewood in the basement. The fence rail was bent and the mail box was toasted. This is what I came back to.

What the tree that fell while I was in the UK did to my post box... and now I'm off to go look for a few one.

Finding a post box that size was really difficult. I ended up going to a rural hardware store up in Battle Ground to find a new one. I continued to place my out going mail in this box held on with a few loose screws and some rust. Eventually we pulled the old one off and the Postal carrier just dropped our mail in the new one on the porch.

Two days ago, on my second trip to Home Depot in one day, paul and I finally bought some concrete mix and a post. Setting post was a lot easier than I tought it would be. I hadn’t done anything with concrete by myself so it wsa neat to see how it worked. We set the post and let it dry then put our new post box up!

That's where my mail goes!

Rad! It is also nice to have a working mail box flag. That way I know when the carried has actually picked it up and dropped off new mail.